Do those notorious red light cameras around Jersey City and other cities really lower car crashes – or lead to more accidents than standard traffic signals? That is a question that’s being hotly debated by motorists who have been ticketed after allegedly being caught on camera running red lights.

A recent decision by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to suspend the issuance of tickets at 63 intersections in the state outfitted with red light cameras initially led to relief among drivers who have been fined after being caught running lights. The suspension of the program was particularly felt in Newark, where all of that city’s red light cameras will stop issuing tickets until the system can be recalibrated and improved.

But the suspension of the red light camera program provides little amnesty to Jersey City drivers. Of the 13 red light cameras that have been in operation in Jersey City, only one – at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue – has been suspended. The remaining 12 cameras in Jersey City remain in full effect and drivers who run red lights at these intersections will still receive tickets and fines.

Despite state officials suspending most of New Jersey’s red-light cameras, Jersey City is forging ahead with the controversial program by adding cameras to a ninth city intersection, at Newark Avenue and Routes 1&9.

The city, which started implementing the program last year, plans to install the cameras at more than three dozen locations citywide. The latest set of cameras will catch motorists speeding through the red lights at the foot of Newark Avenue, by the Wittpenn Bridge.

Cameras installed last March at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue were suspended on June 19, along with more than 60 statewide, after the state determined the yellow lights at the intersections may not be timed correctly.

Cameras installed at the other seven Jersey City intersections were permitted to continue operating.

The Jersey Journal asked the city whether it should halt any implementation of additional red-light cameras until the state concludes its investigation of the program.

"The study being conducted by the state involves certain cameras and the timing of the yellow signal,” said city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill. “The only that has been temporarily suspended pending the review was the red light camera at Communipaw Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard, and ultimately the state authorizes the activation of all new cameras.”

City officials stress that increasing public safety is the top priority for the red-light camera program, though they concede the cameras may be responsible for as much as $3 million in revenue this year.

A 30-day warning period for the red-light cameras at Newark Avenue and Routes 1&9 begins on Thursday. Motorists will be cited $85 for running a red light there starting August 5.

Motorists who have recently received citations because of the red-light cameras at Communipaw Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City should treat the summonses as they would normally, despite the state suspending the program at most red-light camera locations, police said yesterday, The Jersey Journal reports.

The state slammed the brakes on the program Tuesday because of concerns that the yellow lights at many of the statewide locations are not timed properly. Of Jersey City’s roughly dozen intersections with red-light cameras, only the cameras at Communipaw and Kennedy were suspended.

New Jersey is suspending its controversial red light camera program to further study whether the cameras, which have frustrated motorists while generating millions of dollars for towns, meet standards for the timing of yellow lights.

Officials with the state Department of Transportation said today that 63 of the 85 red light cameras in the state — including all 19 in Newark — have not been tested to ensure yellow lights were timed in full accordance with state standards. Tickets will not be issued at those 63 locations until it is determined whether the cameras are in compliance with the law. The other 22 cameras are in compliance.

The yellow lights are expected to stay lit one second for every 10 mph — 3.5 seconds in the case of an intersection where the speed limit is 35 mph.

In addition, the standards call for towns to study the speed at which vehicles approach the intersection before determining how long the yellow lights stay lit, taking into account the speed at which 85 percent of the drivers travel through the intersection. For 63 of the 85 cameras in 21 towns, those speeds had not been determined before the towns received approval to install the red light cameras.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon Jr. (R-Monmouth) said motorists have been caught in the red lights and fined because the yellow lights may have been incorrectly timed.

It's spelled HORSESHIT and there are plenty of studies showing that there is no reduction of injuries/accidents.

This was a racket from day one and in typical Hudson COunty fashion, we will be stuck with it long after forwardthinking communities have dismantled their systems in favour of real measures, some as simple as lengthening the yellow light period.

Drivers caught on camera running red lights at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City over the past year were issued 20,000 traffic tickets and shelled out $1.7 million in fines, county records show.

After paying fees to the state and to the private company that monitors the cameras at the profitable intersection, the City of Jersey City pocketed $658,765 while the county collected $354,553, the records show.

The records reveal fines issued May 2011 to April 2012.

“The primary purpose of the cameras is to slow up traffic and to ensure that drivers abide by traffic signals enhancing the safety of the driving public,” Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said in a statement.

“A secondary and incidental benefit of the red-light cameras is certainly the funds they generate for the municipalities in which they are placed, many of which have seen drastic budget cuts and reduced revenues.”

Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said that based on $979,348 collected so far this year from cameras installed at eight intersections in Jersey City under a state Department of Transportation pilot program, the city expects to collect $3 million in fines this year, of which the city will net roughly $1 million.

A small share of every ticket goes to the state and to pay American Traffic Solutions for monitoring the cameras, Morrill said, noting the city plans to install red-light cameras at six more intersections.

Gary Biller, president of National Motorists Association, an advocacy group for motorists, believes the decision by municipalities to install red-light cameras is driven by the devices’ lucrative payoff.

“The fact that one camera made $1.7 million over one year and the city is adding more cameras shows that it is clearly about increasing revenue,” Biller said. “If the aim is to improve traffic safety there is no need for the cameras.”

Biller argues that other measures, such as increasing the amount of time a light remains yellow and improving the visibility of the lights have proven “time and time again” to reduce traffic-ticket violations and make instersections safer.

Hudson County and the City of Jersey City share the income generated by red-light cameras installed at four intersections along Kennedy Boulevard, which is a county road.

“The ones (red-light cameras that) I know that have been installed enhance safety in area as well as generate revenue,” said Hudson County Freeholder Bill O’Dea.

CAM LOCATIONSJersey City has 24 red-light cameras at these eight intersections. Another 14 cameras are slated to be installed at six more intersections in Jersey City soon, but officials have not said where.

I won my Red Light Camera (RLC) case 3/23/2012 with Edison Township. My ticket was dismissed. Please read this as I believe that all of the Red Light Cameras are not complying with the law which means your tickets should be dismissed. Edison is not following the RLC law as it is written. They did not do the 85th percentile study that was needed to be done on Rt. 1 at Plainfield Ave. Which means the timing of the yellow portion of the light is not long enough by at least one second. They also did not have the inspections and certifications they needed for the camera system and equipment from REDFLEX until I requested them in my OPRA request. The REDFLEX records keeper not the inspector of the RLC system certified each months inspections dated 7/2011 to 2/2012 on the same day 3/21/2012 that he saw them. Then the Edison townships engineer certified the email when he received it. The certifications were sent by email to the town engineer from REDFLEX Traffic Systems in Arizona. Who actual saw what the inspections said? Not the town engineer who certified them. I have copies of all the certifications and a copy of Edison's application to the state to be in the Red Light Camera program. People who receive a ticket should plead not guilty and ask for the information I mentioned through the town clerk in an OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request. She will help you with the OPRA papers. Or look it up online on the Edison website or the town's website you received your ticket. Edison knows that they are issuing tickets and not following the law themselves. ( Officer --------- said he is still going to give out the tickets. It is up to the town to fix things he said.) Most likely all New Jersey Red Light Running cameras are not complying with the law. For more info on the law do a search online for NJDOT Red Light Running Automated Enforcement and Assembly Bill 4314.http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/rlr/

This is the part they are not complying to - Signal Timing Certification (The paragraph below is the important information to ask the town for.)*A certification by the municipal engineer that (a) the intersection or intersections in question have a minimum duration of the amber light at the traffic control signal of 3 seconds if at least 85% of the vehicular traffic approaching the signal is traveling at a speed of 25 mph or less; and (b) for each five mile increase in the speed of vehicular traffic referred to in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph above 30 mph this minimum duration of the amber light shall be increased by ½ second. * This part of the law is most likely NOT being complied with by any town in the RED LIGHT CAMERA program throughout the state of New Jersey. You can also ask for the same information from the NJDOT.Some towns may not be doing the following either, Edison Township was not - the law states - e. A traffic control signal monitoring system shall be inspected and certified at least once every six months by the municipal engineer from the date of its installation for the duration of the five-year pilot program.

In this case it seems it is not about safety or the study would have been done to increase the timing of the amber light and the camera system would be inspected and records would be on file at the township engineers office. It is about the money.

As I said before from what I have learned, I believe almost ALL if not ALL of the Red Light Cameras throughout New Jersey are not following the Law as it is written. If you do not plead not guilty and contest your ticket this problem will never go away.

New red-light cameras have been installed at the intersection of Routes 1&9/440 and Communipaw Avenue, with the newest cameras aimed at westbound traffic.

The city installed the cameras at the southbound and eastbound lanes of the intersection earlier this month, part of a citywide initiative to install the cameras at 11 of the city’s most dangerous intersections.

The new cameras will begin a 30-day trial phase just after midnight on Wednesday. Motorists who blow through a red light there, or turn right on red without stopping, will receive $85 tickets starting May 25.

The city has stressed that the initiative is an effort to increase safety, though it has conceded it hopes to bring in $7 million annually once all the cameras are installed.

Police Department officials announced today that an additional red light camera began its trial phase at 12:01 a.m. (midnight) on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Route 139/Hoboken Avenue. The camera, which is part of a New Jersey Department of Transportation program, will take video and photos of red-light violators.

The trial phase or “warning period” will last until 12:01 a.m. on May 13, 2012 during which violators will receive a written warning in the mail. After that, motorists cited for running the red light will receive an $85 citation.

Mrs. Bobble got caught going through a yellow red light at 5:00 a.m. Car is in my name, so ticket was mailed to me. Imagine her surprise when I called her over to the computer and showed her the video of her running the light. . . .

Officials say these cameras are to improve safety and generate revenue for the city. But a police officer we talk to said there has not been a noticeable increase or decrease in motor vehicle accidents since the installation of the cameras.

“ Most of those cameras are put in high traffic areas used to come in and out of the city, so they mostly get people who aren’t from Jersey City and don’t know the cameras are there and MCA, so if they don’t know it’s there, it’s not reducing accidents, but it will increase ticket numbers”, said a Jersey City Police Officer who asked to remain anonymous.

Officials say these cameras are to improve safety and generate revenue for the city. But a police officer we talk to said there has not been a noticeable increase or decrease in motor vehicle accidents since the installation of the cameras.

“ Most of those cameras are put in high traffic areas used to come in and out of the city, so they mostly get people who aren’t from Jersey City and don’t know the cameras are there and MCA, so if they don’t know it’s there, it’s not reducing accidents, but it will increase ticket numbers”, said a Jersey City Police Officer who asked to remain anonymous.

Officials say these cameras are to improve safety and generate revenue for the city. But a police officer we talk to said there has not been a noticeable increase or decrease in motor vehicle accidents since the installation of the cameras.

“ Most of those cameras are put in high traffic areas used to come in and out of the city, so they mostly get people who aren’t from Jersey City and don’t know the cameras are there, so if they don’t know it’s there, it’s not reducing accidents, but it will increase ticket numbers”, said a Jersey City Police Officer who asked to remain anonymous.

Two more red-light cameras in Jersey City bring total to 8Published: Friday, April 06, 2012, 3:00 AMTerrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

The city began installing the cameras last year, and plans to install them at 11 intersections. City officials stress the mission of the program is to increase public safety, though they have conceded they hope to net $7 million annually once all the cameras are installed.

claims no new taxes yet the city nets $7 million on red light cameras. Can we get jay-walking cameras too? We'd never have another budget problem ever again.[/sarcasm]

Two more red-light cameras in Jersey City bring total to 8Published: Friday, April 06, 2012, 3:00 AMTerrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

New red-light cameras have been installed at two intersections in Jersey City, bringing the number of city intersections with the cameras to eight.

The southbound intersection of Newark and Tonnelle avenues, where the city installed cameras on the northbound side in January, have been outfitted with cameras, as have the south- and eastbound lanes of Communipaw Avenue and Routes 1&9/440.

The cameras begin a 30-day trial period just after midnight today. Starting just after midnight on May 5, motorists who blow through red lights at either intersection will receive an $85 ticket.

The city began installing the cameras last year, and plans to install them at 11 intersections. City officials stress the mission of the program is to increase public safety, though they have conceded they hope to net $7 million annually once all the cameras are installed.

Other intersections with the cameras include Communipaw Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard and Jersey Avenue and 18th Street. Some intersections, such as Christopher Columbus Drive and Jersey Avenue, have been outfitted with cameras that are not activated yet.

Another Red Light Camera Now Located at Montgomery St. & Kennedy Blvd. Ticketing Begins 4/20/12!!!!!!!

Police Department officials announced today that an additional red light camera will begin its trial phase at 12:01 a.m. (midnight) on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at the intersection of Montgomery Street and Kennedy Boulevard. The camera, which is part of a New Jersey Department of Transportation program, will take video and photos of red-light violators.

The trial phase or “warning period” will last until 12:01 a.m. on April 20, 2012 during which violators will receive a written warning in the mail. After that, motorists cited for running the red light will receive an $85 citation.

Police Department officials announced today that a seventh red light camera will begin its trial phase at 12:01 a.m. (midnight) on Friday, March 16, 2012 at the intersection of Duncan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard. The camera, which is part of a New Jersey Department of Transportation program, will take video and photos of red-light violators.

The trial phase or “warning period” will last until 12:01 p.m. on April 15, 2012 during which violators will receive a written warning in the mail. After that, motorists cited for running the red light will receive an $85 citation.

The City’s road safety program aims to protect drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians from injuries or crashes caused by red-light running. Jersey City’s road safety program has been in effect since April 2011 and has already recorded more than 16,000 violations at the various locations.

What bugs me most is this:The camera at Jersey and Columbus only photographs infractions on Jersey Ave as drivers cross Columbus.All those drivers going to and from Goldman Sacs or taking the shortcut to the tunnel can run red lights at 40mph with impunity. And the busses, along with everyone else, can make the right-on-red with no stop to go north on Jersey, completely clogging the block before Newark and preventing northbound traffic on Jersey from entering the intersection.God forbid local traffic trying to cross CCD on a too-short light should interfere.Somebody call Fulop!

Logged

nikki: i can't keep up with rab and his George Clooney lifestyle of drinking wine, playing music and philanthropy

Jersey City’s sixth set of red-light cameras was activated at Duncan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard this morning just after midnight, giving motorists 30 days until they start receiving tickets for blowing through a red light there.

The city is in the process of installing the cameras at 11 of the city’s most dangerous intersections. Previous intersections approved for the cameras include Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue and Jersey Avenue and 18th Street.

Though city officials expect to net $7 million annually once all the cameras are installed, they have stressed that their primary goal is safety.

“The intent of our road-safety program is to get drivers to obey traffic signals,” said Police Chief Thomas Comey. “The purpose of this program is to improve public safety and reduce collisions resulting from red-light violations.”

Motorists can also receive tickets for not coming to a full stop before turning right on red at the intersections.

The trial period for the Duncan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard cameras ends on April 15.

A sixth red-light camera in Jersey City became operational this morning, but drivers who commit a moving violation at that location over the next month will receive a warning and not a ticket, city officials said.

The newest red-light camera has been placed on the westbound side of the intersection of Sip Avenue and Routes 1&9. A camera is already in place and operational on the east side of the intersection.

“The intent of our road safety program is to get drivers to obey traffic signals,” said Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey. “The purpose of this program is to improve public safety and reduce collisions resulting from red-light violations.”

The warning phase began at 12:01 this morning and will continue until midnight April 9, city officials said. For the next month any drivers caught running a red light will receive a written warning in the mail.

Starting April 10, an $85 citation will be given to drivers who run the red light.

The road safety program has been in effect since last April and has recorded more than 16,000 violations, officials said.

Jersey City’s other red-light cameras are located at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue, Jersey Avenue and 18th Street, Montgomery and Merseles streets, and Newark and Tonnelle Avenues.

The program is administered by American Traffic Solutions, Inc. (ATS) with each violation reviewed and approved by the city’s Police Department prior to being issued.

Police Department officials announced today that a fifth red light camera began its trial phase at 12:01 a.m. (midnight) on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012 at the intersection of Sip Avenue and Routes 1 & 9/440. The camera, which is part of a New Jersey Department of Transportation program, will take video and photos of red-light violators.

The trial phase or “warning period” will last until 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 30th 2012 during which violators will receive a written warning in the mail. After that, motorists cited for running the red light will receive an $85 citation.